State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 1,541 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 304,966 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 1,541 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $8,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Halliburton by 101.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Halliburton by 34.2% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Halliburton by 28.8% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,759 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HAL opened at $26.75 on Wednesday. Halliburton has a fifty-two week low of $25.16 and a fifty-two week high of $41.56. The company has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.02.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is 24.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $3,689,712.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 127,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,321,149.13. The trade was a 52.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HAL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Halliburton from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Halliburton from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Halliburton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Halliburton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.42.

About Halliburton

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.